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The Internet is the first place a typical user will go for
information about your company or organization. Not having a
website for your brand is basically akin to not existing.
Deciding where to set up shop online is an important step toward
establishing a legitimate brand and effectively getting the word
out about what you offer.

It isn’t quite as easy as it used to be. With an estimated 100 million websites using
the .com extension, the options for many small businesses and
startups have all but dried up. Until recently, entrepreneurs
either had to burn vital seed money for the .com name they
wanted or settle for a second-rate choice such as .co or .net.

Fortunately, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit group that manages domain names,
has begun approving new extensions that provide additional
opportunities for entrepreneurs to set up a more appealing and
descriptive space on the web. Soon you’ll have the choice of
endings like .app, .design, .dev, .health, .wiki, .systems and
.tech. Consider some of the benefits below of using these and
other new TLDs as you prepare to set up shop on the web:

Use them as a brand building tool. Creating a
strong online brand presence is crucial but, given the sheer
number of companies on the web, chances are high that someone has
already registered the domain you want. Companies looking for an
is easily searchable URL that resonates with their target
audience can get more creative with these new domains.

The app, Putty, has now set up shop at Putty.Ink. While it’s indeed a bit of an
offbeat name, Putty.com looks to have already been taken. The
.ink extension was playfully brought in as a workable
alternative since the app is all about sharing print articles
online. Given the competion between startups in Silicon
Valley, Silicon Alley and other tech hotbed areas, some
companies might want to distinguish themselves via their
geography. Companies attached to specific locations, like the
“Made in NY” brand might want to consider moving to the .nyc
extension that will be made available to the general public in
October.

Boost the online presence of niche industries.
New TLDs present a huge opportunity for niche businesses like
tattooing, wine making and screen printing to really enhance
their existing web presences. The tattoo industry, for example,
traditionally relied on word-of-mouth to attract new customers.
Today, with increasing acceptance of tattoos as well as the
advent of social media to share and compare ink, tattoo artists
and shops can’t afford to miss out on the benefits of being
online. It’s a creative industry that could easily leverage a
variety of new domains like .ink, .tattoo, .art, or even simply
.studio, to boost its online presence and start appealing to
customers researching where to get new ink online.

Expand to other languages. Country specific
extensions like .ca (Canada) and .it (Italy) have been around for
a while now, but with new domains there is a critical opportunity
to reach users in their native languages.

ICANN has begun rolling out domains in scripts like Arabic and
Chinese. Major companies like Amazon and Wal-Mart have already
begun applying for international domain names for their specific
brand names and for terms like “.store,” “.electronics” and
“.fashion,” translated into Japanese and Chinese scripts. They
understand the value of appealing to potential customers in the
languages they use every day.

While major brands will have their own TLDs in these foreign
scripts, generic terms like “.shop” in Arabic, Chinese and
Japanese will be available for registration by entrepreneurs
exploring opportunities in Asia and the Middle East. Soon, no one
will have to navigate the Internet in a language not their own.

Over the next few years, as new gTLDs come to market, brands will
unveil the many ways they plan to make use of them. Entrepreneurs
are wise to keep an eye out as more extensions become available
and leverage those that best enhance their online presence. There
are many newsletters you can sign-up for to stay alerted to
domains you’re interested in and you can see a full list of
applied for TLDs at ICANNwiki.